State Rewards Writers of History Novels

News taken from NST.

MORE than 500 literary enthusiasts, including trainee teachers and secondary school students from around the state, attended the recent Sayembara Menulis Novel Sejarah Johor (Johor Historical Novel Writers Competition) award presentation ceremony held at a leading hotel, here.

Winner of the second and third prizes, Hanita Hassan (third from right) with her family.


JOHOR BARU: The glittering ceremony was organised by Yayasan Warisan Johor (YWJ) in collaboration with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in the southern zone and Gapena (Gabungan Persatuan Penulis Persatuan Malaysia, or the Federation of National Writers Association of Malaysia).

Guest-of-honour was State Rural and Regional Development, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Asiah Md Ariff, who represented Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

Also present were YWJ director Muhamad Fuad Radzuan, heads of department and representatives various NGOs and members of the selection panel headed by Hamzah Hamdani, former director of DBP's Sarawak branch as well as a committee member of Gapena.

Mesmerising gigs included traditional dance, a performance by YWJ members based on one of the chapters from the grand-prize winner Pejuang, a medley of songs presented by YWJ singers, an exhibition of pictures of previous Sayembara competitions and a ghazal ensemble performance.

Since its inception in 2005, the bi-annual competition, a brainchild of the Menteri Besar, has garnered tremendous response from writing enthusiasts and historians.

Its main objective was to highlight the history of Johor since the 16th century.

Participation is open to Malaysians and foreign citizens of all ages with flair in producing novels that fulfil the appraiser's criterion.

According to YWJ Literary and Historical division head, Dzul Karnain Asmawi, a workshop was held earlier and contestants were given a period of one year to complete their novel.

Cash prizes were awarded to four winners of this year's competition from a total of only seven who had submitted their works.

Pejuang was written by Wahyu Budiwa Rendra A. Wahid. The 34-year-old grand-prize winner took home RM35,000.

Wahyu Budiwa, an officer with YWJ Citra Holdings, had previously won many literary accolades including the Anugerah Penulis Johor 2007 awarded by the Johor Writer's Association.

Other recognition bagged by the Johor Baru-born include third placing in the 2009 Sayembara Menulis Puisi Mengenang Tun Razak programme organised by Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan and third placing in the 2010 Sayembara Menulis Novel Sejarah Johor.

"To be a successful novelist, a lot of reading and writing is a pre-requisite," said Wahyu Budiwa, a graduate in Business Administration from Universiti Putra Malaysia.

For freelance writer Hanita Hassan, not securing top position was immaterial as she won prizes for both second and third places.

Hanita's novels, Ombak Dendam Tanah Selatan and 1699: Desah dari Selatan, took second and third places, respectively.

For that feat, Hanita earned a total of RM40,000 (RM25,000 reward for second place and RM15,000 for third).

Hanita, 41, from Malacca started her career as a broadcast journalist with TV3 and a stringer with Utusan Malaysia.

The mother of four young children is presently a full-time events manager, as well as writer of books under various categories.

"I thank my husband for supporting my efforts, especially monitoring the welfare of our children and helping in household chores during my long hours of writing," said Hanita, who was also a former lecturer in Communication and Media Studies at UiTM Malacca.

The consolation prizes were won by Rahimah Muda and Abdul Latip Talib, whose novels Ratu Opera and Laksamana Hang Nadim, respectively, were selected by the evaluation panel.

Rahimah, from Endau, is a theatre activist-cum-writer/scriptwriter while Abdul Latip, from Jelebu, Negri Sembilan, and author of several novels, each received RM5,000.

All prizes were presented by Asiah.

Seventeen-year-old Hanita Ahmad, a fifth former at a secondary school here, was full of praise for the function.

"The whole event was very impressive," she said.

Asiah lauded YWJ for successfully organising the 4th Sayembara competition. "Following this feat, novels on the history of Johor will hopefully be opted as reading materials in the secondary school syllabus," she said.

Earlier, Fuad thanked both Gapena, DBP southern zone and members of the selection panel for their cooperation in the organisation of the event.


Read more: State rewards writers of history novels - Johor - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/streets/johor/state-rewards-writers-of-history-novels-1.151243#ixzz2AnIkL2O0